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Tasty recovery: Snails help Bulgaria out of crisis
Source: Agencies |
September 22, 2011, Thursday
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BULGARIA'S economic recovery is moving at a snail's pace - but here near the village of Krushovitsa nobody's complaining.
Millions of gastropods are munching their way through clover fields at local farms, fattening themselves up to feed a soaring European appetite for gourmet snails.
Demand in Paris, Rome and Madrid is near record highs after a dip during the worldwide economic slump, and Bulgaria has ambitions of catching up with other major exporters like Greece and Turkey.
Stancho Totov has a breeding ground for the slimy creatures near the village. Business is so strong he's now investing in machinery to extract lucrative caviar - snail eggs that are one of the most coveted delicacies in French restaurants.
Major cosmetics brands also shell out millions of dollars a year for snail secretions that contain important ingredients for anti-aging creams.
On his 5.3-hectare snail farm, Totov apologizes for the muddy ground left after overnight rain. "It's good for the snails, though, because they need a humid environment to survive these hot summer days."
At noon, millions of snails crawl out from below the wooden racks placed all over the clover-covered soil for their daily veggie meal.
Totov, 39, who has a master's degree in economics, decided a decade ago to ditch the meager job market and jump into snails.
Together with Ognyan Kirovski, a 48-year-old engineer, they started the farm - or "adventure," as Totov calls it. The partners invested all they had to buy equipment, hire a dozen full-time workers, and study French snail breeding. Eight years later, the two Bulgarian snail pioneers have managed to expand production to nearly 100 tons per season.
In Bulgaria, where agriculture accounts for 5.3 percent of GDP, snail breeding has opened good prospects for many farmers, helping them to survive the economic downturn. It is the European Union's poorest member with an average monthly salary of 340 euros (US$480) and a 11.4 percent unemployment rate.
Snail orders, mainly from France, but also from Italy and Spain, have pushed exports to nearly 1,000 tons per year - a fivefold increase since 2007, according to estimates.
Millions of gastropods are munching their way through clover fields at local farms, fattening themselves up to feed a soaring European appetite for gourmet snails.
Demand in Paris, Rome and Madrid is near record highs after a dip during the worldwide economic slump, and Bulgaria has ambitions of catching up with other major exporters like Greece and Turkey.
Stancho Totov has a breeding ground for the slimy creatures near the village. Business is so strong he's now investing in machinery to extract lucrative caviar - snail eggs that are one of the most coveted delicacies in French restaurants.
Major cosmetics brands also shell out millions of dollars a year for snail secretions that contain important ingredients for anti-aging creams.
On his 5.3-hectare snail farm, Totov apologizes for the muddy ground left after overnight rain. "It's good for the snails, though, because they need a humid environment to survive these hot summer days."
At noon, millions of snails crawl out from below the wooden racks placed all over the clover-covered soil for their daily veggie meal.
Totov, 39, who has a master's degree in economics, decided a decade ago to ditch the meager job market and jump into snails.
Together with Ognyan Kirovski, a 48-year-old engineer, they started the farm - or "adventure," as Totov calls it. The partners invested all they had to buy equipment, hire a dozen full-time workers, and study French snail breeding. Eight years later, the two Bulgarian snail pioneers have managed to expand production to nearly 100 tons per season.
In Bulgaria, where agriculture accounts for 5.3 percent of GDP, snail breeding has opened good prospects for many farmers, helping them to survive the economic downturn. It is the European Union's poorest member with an average monthly salary of 340 euros (US$480) and a 11.4 percent unemployment rate.
Snail orders, mainly from France, but also from Italy and Spain, have pushed exports to nearly 1,000 tons per year - a fivefold increase since 2007, according to estimates.
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